Wait
by Kynthia1
Summary: An AU version of Crystal Skull. What if Sam had been affected instead of Daniel?


Wait  
  
Sam paced back and forth at the temple entrance. It must have been at least twenty-four hours since she woke up, alone, at the base of the pedestal. Oddly enough, she didn't feel hungry or thirsty or even tired. Sam briefly contemplated making a run for the DHD, but the howling winds and blowing sands made it virtually impossible. As she waited, Sam wondered what had occurred during her period of unconsciousness. Why had her teammates left her alone? Had something happened to them? Sam pushed that idea out her mind.   
  
Sam heard the unmistakable sound of a MALP being activated. Peering through the drifting sand, she made out the familiar shape. The camera scanned, and pointed right at her. They see me, she thought, nearly collapsing with relief. I was getting worried there for a while. The MALP shut down. Never mind, she thought, they know I'm here.  
  
*************************  
  
Jack approached the infirmary slowly. I am so not looking forward to this, he thought dismally. As he neared his destination, he was joined by a somber Teal'c. At first, the two men were silent, then Teal'c said, "In retrospect, perhaps it is as well that DanielJackson required surgery and was unable to accompany SG1 on this mission."  
  
"Ya think?" Jack said. "Sorry, T, I don't mean to sound flippant. I'm just glad Daniel wasn't there or we might have lost him too. It's ironic, he was really looking forward to visiting PX3-whatis, even more than Carter." Jack's voice broke.  
  
Teal'c nodded. "A pity we were unable to obtain the crystal skull. DanielJackson was most eager to compare it to the one found by his mother's sire."  
  
"Yeah, a real shame," Jack said. "What a prince, that grandfather of his. No wonder Daniel's never mentioned him."  
  
"I do not understand the Tauri custom of abandoning a child of one's blood," Teal'c said. "On Chulak, no Jaffa child would have been relinquished to the care of strangers as long as a single member of the child's kin lived."  
  
"You and me both, big guy," Jack said.  
  
Dr. Fraiser spotted the two visitors. Although the strain of the last several days showed in her face, she was her usual competent self. She ushered the two men toward the bed where Daniel lay sleeping.  
  
"How is he?" Jack asked.  
  
"Much better, his temperature is nearly back to normal and he's already asking for coffee," Janet said with the barest hint of a smile.  
  
"Sounds like he's almost ready for duty," Jack said. "Looks like he's still out of it. Maybe we should come back later."  
  
The sound of Jack's voice woke Daniel from his light doze. He opened his eyes, saw Jack and Teal'c, smiled happily at his friends, and asked, "How did the mission go? Did you get the crystal skull?"  
  
Jack and Teal'c looked at each other, neither man eager to be the bearer of bad news.  
  
Daniel sensed something was wrong. "Where's Sam?" he asked as he quickly scanned the room. "Why isn't she here too?"   
  
Jack sat on the edge of Daniel's bed. "Danny, I don't know the best way to break it to you, so I'll just come out and say it. Carter's dead."  
  
"No, no," Daniel said, shaking his head. "No, she can't be. Jack you're wrong."  
  
Jack sighed. "I wish I was."  
  
"What happened?" Daniel asked.  
  
"I'm not exactly sure," Jack admitted. "We made it to that ginormous cave, crossed that bridge to the center of the room; Carter walked over to the skull; this weird sparkly wind swirled around her; Teal'c blasted the skull with his zat to stop it; then the next thing I know, I was lying on the gateroom floor."   
  
Daniel turned to Teal'c in appeal. "There must be some mistake," he said, willing the Jaffa to contradict Jack.  
  
"DanielJackson, unfortunately I must confirm O'Neill's account. Major Carter was indeed enveloped in a 'sparkly wind' and I did attempt to halt the phenomena but was unsuccessful. At this point, the excessive radiation caused O'Neill to 'darken out' as you say. I turned to attend to him, in that brief moment, Major Carter disappeared."  
  
"Disappeared?" Daniel said, refusing to give up hope. "Then you don't know she's gone."  
  
"Daniel, she either was destroyed by the energy blast or fell over the side. Believe me, we've sent the MALP as far into the cavern as it can go, and there is no trace of her," Jack said quietly.  
  
*********************  
  
The next day, Teal'c, Daniel and Jack joined General Hammond in the briefing room to discuss the future of SG1. The conversation turned to the events of the last mission.  
  
"The only one who understood that whole nintendo thing was Carter," Jack said, a touch of sadness in his voice. "I don't see the point of returning."  
  
"I concur," Teal'c said. "There seems to be nothing of value in the caverns. The radiation is most detrimental as well."  
  
"What do you think, Dr. Jackson?" Hammond said.  
  
Daniel jumped slightly. An expression of guilt crossed his face. "It's my fault, I should have been there," Daniel said shakily. "If I had gone on that mission, Sam would be alive now!"  
  
"Daniel, don't beat yourself up about this," Jack said. "You couldn't have done anything to prevent it."  
  
"Indeed, DanielJackson, no one could have foreseen the sudden, lethal, increase in the radiation levels, or that an intense blast of energy would surround Major Carter.  
  
General Hammond gave Daniel a sympathetic look. "Dr. Jackson, believe me, I know exactly how you feel. Sometimes it's harder to be the one who stays behind. From what both Teal'c and Colonel O'Neill have reported, there was nothing you could have done to change the outcome."  
  
Daniel sighed. "I just keep thinking that if I'd been there, it wouldn't have happened."  
  
"It's not your fault your appendix burst three hours before the mission," Jack said, patting Daniel's shoulder. "I'm just glad we didn't lose you, too."  
  
"Did the MALP show anything?" Daniel asked desperately.  
  
"Sorry, no," Jack said.  
  
An idea struck Daniel. "Let's talk to Nick," he said. "Maybe he can help us come up with something."  
  
"Your crazy grandfather?" Jack said. "Ya really think he's gonna be any help?"  
  
General Hammond shook his head regretfully. "I'm sorry Dr. Jackson, but even if your grandfather could shed some light on what happened to Major Carter, and that doesn't seem likely, there is no way I could justify such a security breach," Hammond said to a crestfallen Daniel.  
  
"It doesn't sound as if there's any reason for any SGC personnel to return to that planet. I'm not going to risk any more lives simply to retrieve the MALP," Hammond continued. "I'll have Sgt. Siler remove the coordinates from the dialing program immediately."  
  
"Sir, I'd like to request that SG1 be allowed two weeks downtime," Jack said. "Daniel and Teal'c have never seen my cabin."   
  
Hammond glanced at Daniel. "Good idea, Colonel. You may start your leave today."  
  
**************************  
  
It wouldn't be long before Colonel O'Neill returned to the planet, Sam thought as she surveyed the desolate landscape. One thing you could count on, Jack O'Neill never left anyone behind. He'd move heaven and earth to bring her back. Meanwhile, she settled down to wait.  
  
The End. 


End file.
